A GAAR for the UK? Building on overseas experience.

The conference was held at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London
on 10th February 2012.

The Aaronson report on a proposed GAAR for the UK, published in November 2011, has attracted considerable interest.  Designed as a targeted anti-abuse rule rather than a broad spectrum anti-avoidance rule, it aims to escape some of the problems experienced with GAARs in other jurisdictions. Novel features for the UK, such as a proposed Advisory Panel, bear similarities to institutions elsewhere but differ in other respects.

As a contribution to the on-going debate, the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation (OUCBT) organised a conference on 10th February 2012, at which Graham Aaronson, members of his Advisory Panel and other UK experts had discussed these issues with leading authorities on the GAARs of other jurisdictions. 

Panellists, chairs and speakers are given below:

From Australia: 
Professor Ann O’Connell (Melbourne Law School) 
Hon Justice Tony Pagone (a member of the Australian GAAR Panel) and
Professor Graeme Cooper (University of Sydney)

From Canada: 
Professor David Duff (The University of British Columbia)
Wayne Adams (Canadian Tax Foundation, formerly Chair of the GAAR committee at the Canadian Revenue Agency)

From Ireland:
Emer Hunt (University College Dublin)

From New Zealand: 
Professor Craig Elliffe (University of Auckland).

From South Africa: 
Ed Liptak (Consultant South African Revenue Service (with responsibility for GAAR))

International and EU:
Philip Baker QC (Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers)
Richard Lyal (EU Commission Legal Service)

From the UK: 
Graham Aaronson QC (Pump Court Tax Chambers) - GAAR report author.
Chris Davidson (HMRC)
Malcolm Gammie QC (One Essex Court)
Professor Michael Devereux (Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation)

GAAR Study Group:
John Bartlett (Group Head of Tax, BP Plc), Professor Judith Freedman (Professor of Taxation Law and Director of Legal Research, Centre for Business Taxation, Oxford University), Sir Launcelot Henderson (Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice) , The Rt. Hon Professor Lord Hoffmann (formerly Lord of Appeal, Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong), Howard Nowlan (formerly Tax Partner at Slaughter & May, part time Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber)), Professor John Tiley QC (Emeritus Professor of the Law of Taxation, Director of the Centre for Tax Law, Cambridge University).

Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation is grateful to the Oxford Melbourne Law School Research Partnership funded by Mr Allan Myers AO QC for financial assistance with this conference.

Thanks also go to Allen & Overy, McGrigors LLP and the Norton Rose Group for their financial support.  

 
To download a copy of the conference programme please click here.

To download presentations given at the conference, please click on the speaker's name. Copyright in the Powerpoints is owned by the authors and they must not be copied in whole or in part without permission.

Professor Judith Freedman 
Philip Baker QC
John Bartlett
Professor David Duff
Professor Ann O'Connell
Professor Craig Elliffe
Professor Graeme Cooper
Wayne Adams
Justice Pagone

Podcasts given at the conference are available here.

Sir Launcelot Henderson
Professor Judith Freedman
Philip Baker QC
Richard Lyal
John Bartlett
Professor Ann O'Connell
Professor Craig Elliffe
Justice Pagone
Wayne Adams

Background material for the conference is available here.

Please contact cbtevents@sbs.ox.ac.uk if you need further information.